Mississippi family survives scary hot air balloon landing near Vegas

LAS VEGAS (WTVA) — A Mississippi family is still recovering following a hard landing during a hot air balloon ride near Las Vegas.

The family came in on Wednesday from Mississippi, according to Brant Kairit of Senatobia.

On Thursday morning, the company, Vegas Balloon Rides, picked up the family from the Las Vegas Strip and drove to Pahrump, where they, along with two other tourist groups, took off for a scenic hot air balloon ride.

Kairit said the ride was 45 minutes, and everything was going smoothly until the last 30 seconds.

“We landed and went up in the air for a little bit, I mean 20-30 feet, and then it tipped up on its side with the smaller rectangular part being on the ground,” Kairit recalled. “So, the four-foot side was on the ground, and it was 12 foot up in the air to the other side. And my family would just happen to be on the compartment that was up in the air. We managed to get out from under it and start stomping out, stomping out the fire. My wife has the most injuries, bleeding pretty well, so we hid her in the van.”

With no cell service in a remote area, the family and other passengers drove themselves to the hospital.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.